Renewable Sonoma Needs Your Support

Renewable Sonoma Needs Your Support

This is very short notice.  I received a note explaining that Renewable Sonoma just learned that the City of Santa Rosa is being pressured by a neighborhood group on Llano Rd. to oppose what the City previously determined, after extensive public input, was the “preferred site” for the new municipal composting facility – at the city’s Laguna Treatment Plant.

After all that, a group of neighbors has organized to object to the location.

Local farmers, landscapers, environmentalists and the general public overwhelmingly support this site and Renewable Sonoma, (formerly Sonoma Compost).

Please do whatever you can – call, write and/or attend one of these hearings and voice your support.  Contacts are below …

Renewable Sonoma Needs Your Support

The City of Santa Rosa is about to decide if they will make available the preferred site for Renewable Sonoma’s new compost facility at the Laguna Treatment Plant. This will be located where the City currently is composting biosolids, which will be processed elsewhere.  This location is ideal since it is already a developed compost site, significantly reducing new environmental impacts.

 As the overseers of the Laguna Treatment Plant, the Board of Public Utilities has not heard in a long time from Sonoma County residents who support our project.  It is very important for them to hear that there is public support for the project. 

 Take Action Now! 

1.  Let us know if you can come to either of these two meetings by emailing me at willbakx@sonomacompost.com. It would also be helpful if you can send me a copy of your letter.

            City Council / BPU Liaison Committee, Thursday, February 27, 11:30 am, Utilities Field Operations Building, 35 Stony Point Road, Conference Room M, Santa Rosa.

Board of Public Utilities, Thursday March 5, 1:30 pm, Santa Rosa City Council Chamber, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa.

2.  While having live support in the room is very important, written comments are also welcomed.  Please write a letter in your own words to local officials and/or send a letter to the editor of the local paper! Talking points:

·         Currently our curbside organics (green material and food scraps) are out-hauled, which both increases the carbon footprint of our organics management, and reduces the amount of high-quality soil amendments available locally. It is crucial that composting returns to Sonoma County as soon as possible.

 ·         Sonoma Compost, a key partner in Renewable Sonoma, has a track record of producing high-quality composts and mulches that enhance plant growth, improve soil health and sequester carbon.

 ·         Sonoma Compost has been a trusted partner with agriculture, the landscape industry and backyard gardeners.

 ·         Climate action plans have been adopted in Sonoma County and the compost project will play an important role in achieving the goals set forth in these plans.

·         Renewable Sonoma has put forward a program that reduces emissions from the landfill (methane); constructs a carbon friendly compost/mulch program; and promotes carbon farming/gardening through climate-friendly use of its products.

·         Renewable Sonoma is active in our community to promote carbon sequestration and to help farmers and gardeners adopt management practices that will mitigate climate change.

 Please address your letters to the following:

 Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities

Dan Galvin, Chair: dan@shapirogalvinlaw.com

 Santa Rosa City Council

Mayor Tom Schwedhelm: tschwedhelm@srcity.org

City Hall

100 Santa Rosa Ave. Rm. 10

Santa Rosa, CA 95404

 Zero Waste Sonoma

Leslie Lukacs, Executive Director: Leslie.Lukacs@sonoma-county.org

2300 County Center Drive, Suite B-100

Santa Rosa, CA 95403

 Zero Waste Sonoma

Supervisor Susan Gorin, Chair: susan.gorin@sonoma-county.org

575 Administration Drive, Room 100 A

Santa Rosa, CA 95403

 Press Democrat:

Letters to the Editor- 200 words limit (strict)

Email: Letters@pressdemocrat.com

 Sonoma West Papers (Includes the Windsor Times, Healdsburg Tribune, Cloverdale Reveille, and Sonoma West Times and News)- 250 word limit – online submission portal

https://www.sonomawest.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/letter_editor/

Or email: laura@sonomawest.com

 Sonoma County Gazette 

Letters to the Editor- 300 words or less

Email: vesta@sonic.net